


Prom

by RosalindHawkins



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff, High School, One Shot, PWP, Prom, Softshipping, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 17:42:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8219576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindHawkins/pseuds/RosalindHawkins
Summary: Serenity's mother insists that she go to prom, but all of her friends have dates and she doesn't want to go alone. Ryou steps up and offers to take her, and they end up becoming closer than they anticipated.





	

"How about over here, Serenity?" Mrs. Wheeler led her daughter into upscale clothing store, Serenity sighing as she followed several feet behind.

"I don't really _want_ to go to prom, Mom," she protested half-heartedly, knowing that it was completely futile by now to tell her mother no. She seemed determined that her daughter would go, convinced that she'd enjoy it once she got there.

"Nonsense, dear," her mother said with a wave of her hand, not even turning around as her daughter trailed after her towards the formalwear section. "All of your friends are going. You'll like it. There's dancing and food…"

"All of my friends actually have dates," Serenity muttered under her breath, too low for her mother to hear. Her mother already knew that she lacked an escort, of course, but she'd said that was normal. Not everybody who went to prom had a date, and she wouldn't stand out for attending alone. What her mother didn't seem to understand was that Serenity would feel left out when all of her friends went off to slow-dance with their dates and she'd be left standing alone on the sidelines.

As her mother went off and started plucking dresses off the racks, Serenity watched with a feeling of helplessness. At least this store seemed closer to the kinds of things she would wear, not that she'd ever worn a formal dress before, but they looked like things she'd be willing to try on. This store was classier too. Instead of playing obnoxious pop music, there was a real piano somewhere in the store, where beautiful melodies tinkled out.

"Oh, hey, you're Joey's sister, right?"

Serenity turned around and smiled to see one of Joey's friends sitting at the piano several meters away. She walked over to him with a sense of relief, grateful for a distraction.

"Yeah. You're Bakura, right?"

"Yeah." He seemed pleased that she'd remembered him, even though he'd spent the vast majority of the Battle City finals stuck in the Shadow Realm. He continued to play the grand piano effortlessly. "So, Serenity, what brings you here today?" he asked casually, looking genuinely interested.

"My mom and I are shopping for a prom dress," she admitted, wilting a little. "But I keep trying to tell her that I don't want to go."

"Why don't you want to go?" he asked curiously as she wondered how he could just keep playing without any sheet music before him.

"It'll probably be lame anyways," she said with a shrug, feeling embarrassed. "I'm always awkward at these sorts of things."

"You could always go with friends," he suggested, pretending that he wasn't a hypocrite for deciding not to go to his own prom for the very same reason.

"My friends all have dates," she informed him, looking down at her hands.

"Oh." That wasn't quite the same for him, but enough of his friends had dates that he could sympathize. "Would you like to go together then?"

She stared at him with wide eyes, too surprised to speak at first. "Do you really mean that?"

"Serenity Wheeler, would you do me the honor of going to prom and being awkward with me?" With those sweet doe eyes turned on her, his voice smooth with sincerity, she didn't know how to turn them down.

"I'd love to." She blushed, and he grinned at her, pleased with her answer.

"It's this Friday, right?" Ryou was shocked that his proposal had worked; he felt far more anxious than he was letting on.

"Yeah, at eight."

"I'll pick you up at seven-thirty."

"Sounds good."

"Then it's a date." Ryou's grin made Serenity's blush deepen from rose to rouge, and she didn't think she could remember the last time a guy—besides her brother—seemed so happy to be with her. Sure, Duke and Tristan had flirted with her during Battle City, but she saw it more as a competition between the two than a genuine pursuit of _her_. Besides, her brother would be furious if she went on a date with either of them.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Serenity, dear, I have some dresses for you to try on!" Serenity held her breath as she turned around and saw that her mother was carrying maybe ten dresses in her arms.

"Oh, thanks Mom," she replied as her mother glanced around.

"Excuse me, young man, can you please tell me where the changing rooms are?"

"He has a _name_ , Mom," Serenity grumbled, but Ryou seemed unfazed.

"At the back of the store, in the left-hand corner," he answered with an easy smile. "You'll need to ask one of the sales associates to open it for you."

"Thank you." With that, she started to stride away, Serenity sighing as she watched her mother go.

"How am I supposed to choose a dress out of all those?" she despaired. Ryou finished the piece and leaned over a little to look at the multi-colored clumps of fabric.

"The pink one," he said decisively.

"Do you like pink?" she asked, a little curious and a little amused.

"I think _you_ like pink," he answered diplomatically, giving her a wink as his fingers began to play a new tune on the ivory and ebony keys.

* * *

When Ryou appeared on her front step to pick her up for prom, she was impressed. He had his long white hair neatly tied back into a low ponytail and a pink silk tie that matched her dress perfectly.

"You look beautiful." Ryou was blushing as he complimented Serenity, who blushed even more than him in response. She'd gone with the pink dress he'd recommended to her, finding that she did indeed like it better than the others her mother had picked out. It made her look like a ballerina, with the pale rose tulle skirt falling a little below her knees and an off-white fitted satin bodice held up by thin straps. She had neutral-colored flats tied with ribbons up her shins. Her strawberry hair was curled and gathered into a low side-bun and dotted pearl bobby-pins that matched her pearl necklace and earrings.

"Thank you, so do you," she replied without thinking, then immediately felt embarrassed. "I-I mean—"

"It's okay," Ryou assured as he chuckled. "Thank you."

"Before you go, I want to get pictures of you two together," Mrs. Wheeler called from somewhere inside. "Just let me get my camera!"

Ryou and Serenity stood together as her mother photographed them to her heart's content.

"Alright, now go have fun you two. But not too much fun!" she instructed, making Serenity want to sink into the sidewalk where she could hide how red her face was turning. "I want you to bring her home no later than 11:30."

"I will, ma'am," Ryou promised, standing tall and remain calm even as Serenity seemed consumed with nervousness. Her school was only a couple blocks away, so they were just going to walk. Besides, Ryou didn't have a car. He had to take the train into town and then walk to the store where he worked. Walking the two blocks gave them time to talk.

"So, how come we didn't go to your own prom?" Serenity asked curiously, her hand tucked inside the crook of his elbow as he escorted her properly, just like a gentleman.

"Well, I hadn't really planned on going to prom," Ryou admitted sheepishly. "Besides, I'm fairly certain that your brother would murder me if he saw that we were going to prom together."

He'd exagerated on purpose and was pleased when his date laughed as a result.

"Oh, of course, how could I forget!" She giggled again and added, "Joey's overprotective like that, but I appreciate it. I don't think he'd _actually_ hurt you."

"I don't know," Ryou teased. "You weren't there when Joey found out that Tristan broke his iPod."

"Did they fight?"

"They fight all the time, but they're still friends no matter what." He grinned at her. "Joey's a good guy like that. He never stays angry unless you've done something truly terrible."

"Like calling him a chihuahua?" she asked cheekily, making him laugh too.

"Yeah, or calling him a monkey or a mutt," Ryou added. "Kaiba's one of the few people that gets Joey _really_ angry. Still, I don't want to be around when he finds out that we went on a date."

Serenity felt butterflies in her stomach at that comment. So this _was_ a date. That fact made her feel ridiculously pleased with herself. "If we're both there when he's told, I'll protect you."

"Oh, how kind of you. Maybe you can take me to the hospital afterwards, too."

She was sent into another fit of giggles, and by the time she'd recovered herself, they'd arrived at the prom. They entered and ended up doing exactly what Ryou'd invited her to do: be awkward with her at prom. They chatted while standing in a corner as they sipped their punch, but when Ryou went to get them refills, he came back empty-handed.

"Bad news," he said to her, standing close so that she could hear him over the loud music. "Somebody's spiked the punch."

She sighed in disappointment, her shoulders drooping a little. They were silent for maybe half a minute.

"We don't have to stay if you want to, you know," Ryou said. Serenity looked uncomfortable and unhappy, and he wanted to change that if he could. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Like where?"

"The middle school is just a block over, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you like swings?"

"Swings?" Her pink lips twitched into a small smile. "Yeah, I like swings."

"Then let's go to the playground at the middle-school." He offered her his hand, and she took it. He led her out of the building, taking them back the way they'd come up until Serenity pointed out a less-crowded shortcut and they took a different exit in order to escape. Once out in the night air, Serenity shivered. It had gotten colder as it got darker, and she hadn't brought a shawl with her.

"Are you cold? Would you like to borrow my jacket?" Ryou offered immediately, having noticed her shiver. Serenity, not knowing how to turn him down, accepted the offer and let him help her put it on. It was warm from absorbing his body heat and it smelled like his cologne. She deeply inhaled the scent, pleased by it. She took his hand again and guided him in the right direction.

"I don't usually go to school dances," Ryou admitted.

"Me neither."

"There's usually too many people, and I don't know ninety-five percent of them. It's too… loud."

"The last time I went to a school dance, I got a headache from the noise." She glanced over at his relaxed, almost sad expression.

"Me too. It's just so overwhelming."

"Exactly. My mom never understands. She thinks that I'm just trying to be a hermit and stay at home, but I don't have a problem with getting out of the house if I'm going somewhere I enjoy with friends."

"It must be nice," he said suddenly, glancing up at her with his sad brown eyes.

"What is?"

"Having a mom."

Serenity didn't know what to say to that, so she looked away. They were coming up to the middle school, and they stopped talking as they went up to the playground, going straight for the swings. They sat on the swings side by side and as Serenity started to kick her legs, Ryou remained relatively still, stirring his foot in the mulch beneath them.

"What does your dad do?" she asked, wanting to know more about him and his family now that she realized she knew nothing.

"He's an archaeologist," Ryou answered, lifting his head up a little. "He has PhDs in Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern studies."

"That's so cool," she enthused, wanting to sound as cheerful as possible. She wanted to get him to smile again.

"I always thought so." He smiled a little as he recalled his childhood. "He would always bring back gifts from his trips." When he stopped speaking, Serenity looked at him again, slowing her swinging as she noticed that he had his hand pressed to the center of his chest. She could just barely make out the outline of the Millennium Ring underneath his shirt. She wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

"Was the… Millennium Ring one of those gifts?" she asked softly as her swing came to a gradual stop beside him.

"Yeah." He dropped his hand with a sigh. "That's one present I could have done without."

"Does your dad travel a lot?"

"Most of the time, he's at an archaeological dig or consulting with his colleagues abroad. He's not usually home for more than a few days at a time before he leaves again."

"So… you basically live alone?" Serenity could feel her throat close over as tears came to her eyes. He looked up, hearing the sadness in her voice, and smiled bitterly.

"Don't cry for me, Serenity," he said softly, reaching out to her so that they could hold hands again. "I'm fine."

She blinked rapidly, trying to comply with his request and prevent her tears from falling. "Are you sure?"

"I'm still here, aren't I?" He grinned at her crookedly, then dropped her hand. "I bet I can swing higher than you!"

They stuck around the playground for over an hour, playing on the swings, the slide, the monkey-bars, and everything else. They talked about family, friends, childhood, and the struggles of being an introvert. They talked about loss and grief and carrying on. They even slow-danced to music from Ryou's iPod, and by that time Serenity felt warm enough to take off Ryou's jacket. Around eleven o'clock, Serenity was quite tired, and Ryou started to walk her home.

"Are you busy next weekend?" Ryou asked a little nervously as they neared her home.

"I don't have any plans."

"Would you maybe like to go out again on Saturday?" He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

"I would like that very much." Ryou sighed with relief. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could go to the library together and be less awkward than we were tonight."

"I don't usually read at the library. Normally I…" She hesitated, then admitted, "I usually go to a furniture store with my books after I go to the library and find the comfiest couch and read there."

"That sounds like fun." Ryou wasn't humoring her or being sarcastic. He was being genuine with her, and she liked that about him. "Does noon work for you?"

"Yes, that should be fine."

At her doorstep now, they came to a stop and turned to face each other. Ryou didn't really want to leave, but he knew that he had to.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," she said, trying to fill the silence.

"Me too." Ryou hesitated, unsure of himself, then leaned in and gave her cheek a quick kiss. "Goodnight." He turned and started walking away, his face burning as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Goodnight!" she called after him, wishing that he would turn around and smile at her one last time. She sighed wistfully as she went inside, giddy with the pleasure of her first kiss.

* * *

"Oh cool, Serenity sent me a picture of her prom dress!" Tea exclaimed as their group of friends played Duel Monsters before class the following Wednesday. Ryou looked up from the ground he'd been staring at absent-mindedly while Joey and Yugi dueled. Tea knew that he had gone to prom with Serenity, since Ryou'd asked Tea to help him get a suit last-minute. She knew more about clothes than anybody else he'd known, and he'd hoped that he could count on her to keep it a secret.

"Hey, lemme see!" Joey said, springing excitedly out of his chair to look over Tea's shoulder at her phone. She tried to hold it out of his reach, protesting about him being rude and obnoxious while Ryou started to take subtle steps backwards, towards the door to the classroom. Joey was taller than Tea, though, and his arms were longer, so it didn't take long for him to take tea's phone from her hand and see the screen. Serenity had texted one of her mother's pictures to Tea, so Ryou was in the picture with her.

"Grrr, Ryou!" Joey looked up at his friend, looking outraged. He dropped Tea's phone, which she barely caught, as Joey lunged towards Ryou and Ryou dashed towards the door.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked, rather confused.

"Ryou took Serenity to prom," Tea, explained with a giggle, showing the picture to Yugi, Duke, and Tristan.

They could hear Joey shouting, as he chased Ryou down the hallway, "Nobody dates my little sister and gets away with it!"


End file.
